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boulangereads 's review for:
Spellbook of the Lost and Found
by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! A LOT!!!
There are several reasons for that, but I'd be lying if I said that the main reason was anything other than the commitment to the magic. In so many books, there's a flirtation with magical realism, and lots of hints that all is not quite as it seems... but then a convoluted but conveniently mundane explanation drops into the reader's lap and wow, it turns out everything was a metaphor after all!
Not so in Spellbook of the Lost and Found. Oh, sure, most of the mysteries are cleared up by the end of the book, and a variety of main and supporting characters come up with half-plausible explanations for most of the book's spooky occurrences, but I reckon only the most skeptical of readers could believe any of their logic. This is a book where the line between what's real and what's not isn't supposed to be clearly visible, and that's probably my favourite thing about it.
However, the girls are a close second - because there are so!! many!! girls!! in this book!!! All of the PoV characters are girls! All but one of the other protagonists are girls too! Three of the girls are wlw (2 bi, 1 lesbian)!! One of the girls is a woc! One of the girls is disabled (partially deaf)!! The girls spend the entire book supporting each other and caring for each other and falling in love with each other and learning to relate to each other and overcoming their differences!!! In fact, my absolute favourite relationship in the entire book was probably between Olive and Emily - I am so Tired of stories where the protagonist has a Terrible Sister!!! I am MUCH more interested in this excellent "sisters gradually learn that they have more in common than they thought, for example, feminism" trope!!! Amazing!!!
Another thing I absolutely loved was that it felt SUPER IRISH. It's been far too long since I last read an Irish novel, and wow, it just felt so authentically like home? Plus magic. Excellent wonderful outstanding!!!
I was honestly contemplating giving this 5 stars, because it was FAB, but in the end I went for 4/4.5 stars because the characterisation did feel a little shallow at times, and the plotting could have been a liiiittle bit tighter - I guessed The Twist quite a bit before it was revealed - but all in all, if you like witchcraft, (queer) girls supporting each other, spooky vibes, cantankerous and possibly immortal bartenders, cryptic crosswords, some really excellent dog names, and abusive men Getting What They Deserve, then I HIGHLY recommend this book!!!
There are several reasons for that, but I'd be lying if I said that the main reason was anything other than the commitment to the magic. In so many books, there's a flirtation with magical realism, and lots of hints that all is not quite as it seems... but then a convoluted but conveniently mundane explanation drops into the reader's lap and wow, it turns out everything was a metaphor after all!
Not so in Spellbook of the Lost and Found. Oh, sure, most of the mysteries are cleared up by the end of the book, and a variety of main and supporting characters come up with half-plausible explanations for most of the book's spooky occurrences, but I reckon only the most skeptical of readers could believe any of their logic. This is a book where the line between what's real and what's not isn't supposed to be clearly visible, and that's probably my favourite thing about it.
However, the girls are a close second - because there are so!! many!! girls!! in this book!!! All of the PoV characters are girls! All but one of the other protagonists are girls too! Three of the girls are wlw (2 bi, 1 lesbian)!! One of the girls is a woc! One of the girls is disabled (partially deaf)!! The girls spend the entire book supporting each other and caring for each other and falling in love with each other and learning to relate to each other and overcoming their differences!!! In fact, my absolute favourite relationship in the entire book was probably between Olive and Emily - I am so Tired of stories where the protagonist has a Terrible Sister!!! I am MUCH more interested in this excellent "sisters gradually learn that they have more in common than they thought, for example, feminism" trope!!! Amazing!!!
Another thing I absolutely loved was that it felt SUPER IRISH. It's been far too long since I last read an Irish novel, and wow, it just felt so authentically like home? Plus magic. Excellent wonderful outstanding!!!
I was honestly contemplating giving this 5 stars, because it was FAB, but in the end I went for 4/4.5 stars because the characterisation did feel a little shallow at times, and the plotting could have been a liiiittle bit tighter - I guessed The Twist quite a bit before it was revealed - but all in all, if you like witchcraft, (queer) girls supporting each other, spooky vibes, cantankerous and possibly immortal bartenders, cryptic crosswords, some really excellent dog names, and abusive men Getting What They Deserve, then I HIGHLY recommend this book!!!